Swimming In The Sun
by thingy of um thingyness
Summary: A mysterious riddle has been unearthed. Kel, Owen, Dom and Lerant set out on an adventure to save their friend and defeat evil.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, the website deleted my last story from existence, so new story is either K/D or K/N, you guys get to decide. I'm not telling you what "Swimming in the sun" is; that would spoil it. So here goes nothing.

Here is a useful note: Neal has NOT married Yuki.

Disclaimer: I own absolutely everything except T.P.'s work. Sigh.

Swimming in the sun

Kel had never really liked theatre. Although she could name a few exceptions - she had seen some good productions - most of them just seemed too fancy and unrealistic for her liking: knights always got shining armour, a magical sword and wed a beautiful maiden. They never even seemed to get their hands dirty.

Sometimes, when she was VERY frustrated, she wished the world was like that, but she knew in her calmer moments that if it was, what would be the point of being a knight?

This play, called "Sparks in her eyes", was not particularly bad. In fact, Kel was quite enjoying it.

She had been invited by Neal and Dom. At first she had been apprehensive; Neal's guarantee that it was good did nothing to reassure her otherwise: she did not trust Neal in these sorts of judgement. When Dom agreed, she eventually consented and came along. Dom was not quite as air-headed as his cousin, the great philosopher, thinker, mage and all round meathead.

By the end, it was well past dark, around about eleven bells. She and Neal went to get drinks while Dom got food.

"Neal, do you think we should get punch or red wine for Dom?"

"Whatever the fair lady wishes must be correct," he said, his sarcasm clear as always.

"Fat lot of good you are," she snorted.

"Just what I'm there for."

She snorted again at that. "Hmmm, yes, I think I'll get him punch."

"An excellent choice, madam."

"Oh, shut up, Neal."

In the end, they decided upon punch for Dom and Kel and white wine for Neal. Walking towards the counter that sold punch, she was stopped by a tall, cloaked man.

His voice was husky, dry and wheezing. It had a grating sound that made Kel want to grind her teeth as soon as she heard it. "Keladry of Mindelan, I have a message from my master that I was bidden to take to you." He thrust an ancient piece of parchment into her hand, twirled his cloak and was gone like a puff of smoke.

She looked down at the object in her hand. She grimaced, it was stained a deep crimson: blood.

And there we go: Chapter One. Please review, CC always welcome, but no flames, please.


	2. The Riddle

Thanks to everyone whose reviewed and to my beta "Cesy" and "on top of cloud 9" for giving me the most useful review. Sorry for the chapters being so short. I will try harder, I truly will.

Disclaimer: Grass is orange, clouds have yellow spots, and God is dead, did I mention that I owned this story?

"You know, it never fails to amaze me just how many times Neal can faint in one day," complained a very exasperated Dom.

"How about we have a bet on it, he's fainted twice already so I think he can faint…" She had a quick think and then decided , "Yes, I think Neal can faint twice more as we tell him and show him the scroll."

"I think…five," answered Dom.

-----Two hours and five faints later-----

"Ha! I was closest," yelled Dom at last. "Never underestimate the meatheadedness of the Meathead himself."

Kel and Neal both grumbled as Kel poured three nobles into Dom's hand. By this time the fright and confusion had left them but as Kel drew out the letter all of it came back.

"Right," she began, "Now meathead has stopped fainting we can actually read the letter."

The writing was, like the scroll, incredibly old and in some strange form of code.

"first go to" fix the' (roof) of, the manor there is a hole over the globe of the world. Then- turn the globe around and "walk North until you can walk no more" you will find! "a" book about a portal "if you have swum in the sun and found what you are looking for you will enter"

To make sure you comply with what is written in the code we will take someone very dear to you.

So who should the scroll take, N or D! A little info on the "taking": whoever the scroll takes, K and D or N will still be able to talk to them and hear them through a portal.


	3. An Explanation

Again, thanks to all my reviewers and my beta, "cesy". Without you all, I would probably have been banned _again_. This disclaimer is going to be for the entire story, not just this chapter. No more disclaimers, woohoo!

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own TP's story or characters in any way. Any characters or locations you do not recognize are my own ideas.

**Neal's Explanation**

It was now four in the morning and, after Neal's fainting extravaganza, Kel and Dom had managed to escort him back to the palace.

"Neal," wheedled Kel, "Why did you _continually_ faint at the letter?" she asked, flowers in her voice.

"I did not faint," complained Neal, "I was knocked out cold!"

Dom whacked him over the head with a pudding spoon he found from somewhere in the room.

"Neal! You fainted, why? It's not even a hard question!"

"Don't you remember?" Dom shook his head, as though to say, "If I did, I wouldn't ask you, would I, meathead!"

"It was made by our grandfather Emry of Haryse, it's a code, now if you'll excuse me I'll get some sleep and then try at the code, and I suggest you do the same."

That night, Kel tossed and turned, unable to sleep for the dreams that plagued her.

At nine bells the next morning, Kel still hadn't got to sleep, so she slipped out of bed and started pouring a bath for herself. About half a bell later, Kel had just finished getting her clothes back on from after her bath when she heard a shout.

"Yes, I have done it, hoorah hooray!" The rest was muffled by clangs and crashes.

Kel rushed into Dom's room, blew open the door to find an only-half-dressed Dom sitting on his bed, dragging a shirt on.

"Dom, was it you that was just shouting?" she asked frantically.

"No," he replied, "I thought that must have been Meathead."

"Thanks," Kel yelled over her shoulder, already halfway down the corridor.

She rushed back into the knights' quarters, up a flight of stairs, through a door, down a corridor, turn left and through Neal's door only to find that Neal…

I am sorry, I must make the chapters longer. I really am trying. As always, CC is more welcome than ever: I need the tips.


	4. Blankets,kisses and dissapearing

Sorry but I'm too lazy and tired to list of the people who reviewed so to all of you, especially nativewildmage for her great email thing (love that word), thank you!

Disclaimer: This is sooo pointless! This is the disclaimer for the entire story NO MORE DISCLAIMERS EVER! I do not own anything except my muse who lives in various places on my shoulder.

(At the end of the last chapter, Kel rushed into his rooms only to find that Neal…)

Had disappeared!

"Neal! NEAL! Where are you?"

Kel quickly searched Neal's suite of rooms but could find few traces of his disappearance.

Presently Dom came into the rooms panting and dragging on a loose white shirt.

"Kel, what's happened, where's Neal? ...Err, Kel, what are you doing?"

Kel, who was rummaging under Neal's highly untidy bed, answered quickly in a muffled voice, for her head was stuck under a spare pillow. "We've got to find out where he's gone, Dom; we've got to find out where he is!"

She jumped up from under his bed looking rather dishevelled and haggard.

"Well, let's start looking where he last was, Kel, _not_ under his bed. Start at the desk - that's where the scroll he's working on will probably be."

Kel didn't know whether to hit him or thump him, so did a strange combination of both and nearly fell over. Dom caught her and gently pushed her over to the desk, following just behind her.

They frantically burrowed through Neal's papers…all six hundred and twelve of them, finding absolutely nothing that was remotely helpful.

"Aaaaargh!" Kel groaned out of sheer frustration. "Why can't Neal keep his papers in nice piles instead of throwing them everywhere?"

She grabbed Neal's blanket and pulled it over her head then sat down totally still, sulking. The picture was so comical that Dom had to struggle to keep from laughing, but then he noticed that on Neal's bed, under the pillow that Kel had knocked aside when taking the blanket, was a dark red scroll.

"Kel, you're brilliant!" he yelled

"Yes, I know that," she said in a muffled voice, still thoroughly miserable but, Dom guessed, hiding it under that infernal mask.

He ripped the blanket off her head and kissed her fully on the lips, making her gasp in astonishment. She grabbed the blanket and pulled it tightly over her head. Dom chuckled. Right now she had an uncanny resemblance to his little _two year old _sister.

"Not funny!" Came the still muffled reply to an unanswered question. The question may possibly have been "Do you know what you look like?"

Meanwhile, Kel was having her own thoughts inside her (or rather Neal's) blanket. He can't love me, he just can't. He loves some court maiden who's fallen straight into those gorgeous eyes...and they're such nice eyes too. Argh! What am doing? I'm supposed to be trying to look for clues…but I'm not coming out of my blanket yet, I can't talk to him!

"Hey, Kel, are you going to come out of that blanket any time soon?"

"No."

"I guess I'll take the scroll and go find Neal on my own then."

That got her straight out.

"Ha!" laughed Dom, "Tricked you!"

"What," moaned Kel, "You mean you haven't got the scroll?"

"Oh, don't worry, I've got the scroll, but now I can kiss you again," said Dom in a smug voice, his eyes dancing.

Kel sulked some more but eventually she started kissing back. She liked it too much not to.

Super huge digi cookies to all reviewers. I know it's short again but at least I updated and it's got some fluff so don't be too mad. I'm not too sure I liked this chapter but hey, at least it's something.


	5. The Hissing Of The Letters

I have 18 reviews for four chapters. I think that's quite good. So super huge digi cookies for everyone…once I jam them into my processor! They won't fit. Stupid cookies!

Ok, enough rambling. Onwards to the bit you hopefully want to read.

Kel eventually regained enough willpower to push Dom away. They both sat down on the bed. Dom put his arm around her shoulders and she lent her head on his. Dom brought up the scroll and unwound it. Kel shuddered: every time she saw it, it frightened her more and more.

"Dom?" she asked, "The letters weren't like that, were they?"

Dom shook his head mutely; the letters were glowing a fiery red and "Hissing?" murmured Dom.

Kel hit him lightly over the head. "Shush, I'm listening."

"The letters, they're," he gasped, "Speaking!"

Kel said nothing but hit him over the head again, to win a pained response of "Ouch!" from Dom. Kel sat totally still like she had under the blanket; perhaps some form of Yamini meditation, thought Dom. Soon he too began listening to the hissing What Kel heard was as follows: "_Az naz gimbatul az naz gimbatuluk zuuk larz fromd ulk far kaz atulu fazara muuk alahh!" _

"But Kel," exclaimed Dom impatiently, "What are you listening to? There's nothing to hear!"

"Can't you hear them? They're talking to us!"

"Talking to you, Kel," said Dom doubtfully, shaking his head, "Talking to you."

After listening to the letters repetition several times she wrote them down. Dom looked down at the copy sceptically.

"You're absolutely sure you can hear all this?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied, "Would I say so if I wasn't?"

"Yes."

Kel sighed inwardly. Dom could be so, so, so Neal-like sometimes.

On the back of the scroll was Neal's scratchy, hurried handwriting.

"The original scroll code was fake, a diversion to guide us to some other point or purpose. I cannot see it yet but I do feel as though a great shadow is approaching. I fear for all our lives, not least mine. I have, however, located the language as that of the Acropolites, who lived in what is now Scanra, Tortall and Tusaine. The main city was "Necropolis stronghold", located in the north-western part o…"

Here Neal's writing trailed off, though the writing seemed as though he was attacked but had tried to continue, to give his friends some clue as to the whereabouts of the city and of himself, possibly at the cost of his own life.

A solitary tear made its way down Kel's cheek and inside her head only the hissing went on "_We naz gimbatul az naz gimbatuluk zuuk larz fromd ulk far kaz atulu fazara muuk alahh!" _

Kel blinked in surprise. Is it just me, thought Kel, as everything else seemed to be, or had the letters' rhyme changed slightly? And wait, rhyme? Who ever said it was a rhyme?

Two updates in one day! Come on, I gotta get a round of applause for that! I know, I know, all my chapters put together are still shorter than one of most people's, but at least I update quick and besides, I like short. I'm short so my stories can be too. All review please, even if you dislike it which I hope you don't.


	6. The Beginning Of The End

Ha-ha I have updated once more! Unfortunately I will be going away for the next two weeks so that means no updates! Ok, here is chapter VI. WOOHOO!

"W…w…well at l…least we know where to g…go," said Kel, stuttering quite badly.

Dom rang the bell for a servant who quickly came hurrying in. "Please inform the King," hurried Dom, "That we must find Sir Nealan of Queenscove at once; it is a matter of utmost urgency. Also tell him that, with all due respect, we will not take any refusal and must leave at once." The servant, quite understandably, looked highly afraid at having to tell His Majesty this quite…unsettling news. However, he could no more refuse to take an order from nobles as well thought of as these two, than he could from the king himself. "Oh yes," added Dom, "And also please find supplies for a month and horses to carry them."

"At once, your lordship," replied the nervous servant.

No sooner than five minutes after the servant had left the door, well over a dozen people rushed into Neal's small suite. A heavily panting Alanna was the first to speak: "Heard there was an adventure," she managed to get out of her mouth. "Must come on adventure."

"Besides," panted an equally exhausted Raoul, "Safety in numbers."

The rest of the small crowd nodded in agreement.

"But, your majesties, you definitely can't come!" exclaimed Kel to King Jonathan and Queen Thayet.

"Well, why ever not?" argued the King.

"You've got to run the country! Alanna, you're King's Champion; Raoul, you're in command of the King's Own; Buri, you command the Queen's Riders; Faleron, Seaver, you're leaving tomorrow and, and…"

"Remember to breathe next time, dear," said Raoul, most annoyingly.

"Haha, that still leaves me, Lerant and Owen!" yelled Merric excitedly. The three remaining people cheered…or at least two of them cheered while Owen said "jolly" over and over and over again.

Kel and Dom quickly explained what was wrong and the three remaining people quickly stopped cheering. As Owen nicely put it, it was "not very jolly at all".

The next day at six bells in the morning, they set off for Tusaine.

Even shorter than usual, I know, but I'm really busy packing today. R&R!


	7. The Demon of Huttonsfield

I'm very sorry that the last chapter was so…um…wacky. Lerant came because he's Lord Raoul's standard bearer and Owen's friend although I'm going to kill him off fairly quickly. The King and Queen came because it was wacky.

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The road to Tusaine was hard: the cobbles had been trampled by hooves so much in some places that the stones had been completely upturned. On the third day they saw an orange glow in the distance. They soon realized it was something burning, something big. Half a mile away from whatever was burning, Owen stopped them all and pointed at the roadside. A battered old sign lay there, hacked down, it would seem, by an axe.

"Huttonsfield," Dom read from the sign. "This must have been a village."

"Hey listen," exclaimed Lerant, who had remained silent for most of the journey so far.

"Listen to what?" asked Kel.

"That!"

"I can't hear anything," complained Dom.

"Hush," said Kel quietly, for she, too, could now hear it.

"It sounds like…_singing_!" exclaimed Owen as though struck down by enlightenment.

"Not very jolly, is it?"

Soon they were all quiet. The voice was female and faint but quite clear over the hills. It was the most beautiful and amazing thing any of them had ever heard; it was also the saddest.

_Here is the axe that broke the stone_

_Upon the stone I sit alone_

_A stony throne for kings of bone_

_We kings of bone, we died alone_

_Seven of us died alone.  
_

_Here I wait for salvation's king_

_To free me and my lonely kin_

_Surrounded by my loyal men_

_Yet all alone I wait on my throne_

_Waiting for salvation's king. _

The song had been sung slowly so it had lasted at least ten minutes, and for all that time, and five minutes after, none of them moved or spoke or even breathed. Then Owen piped up a remark.

"But if this woman is dead…how can she sing?"

Whatever the answer was they all knew it was not going to be pleasant so they fervently avoided talking about it, or anything else for that matter, until they reached the village. Most of the fire in the village had gone out now but all the intact wood was still hot to touch.

"Split up and search the area," Kel instructed to the small group. Owen searched the walls and gate house, Kel, the shops, Dom, the houses and Lerant searched the almost completely intact village hall.

Lerant stumbled through to where the singing was coming from, still repeating those two same verses. At the back of the hall was a throne made of granite. All around it were strewn odd lumps. It was split through the middle as though cleaved with a giant axe. On the throne was a ragged looking woman. Lerant soon realised it was she who was singing. He slowly approached the throne. One step, he realised that there was an emerald embedded in the head of the chair, so finely crafted he felt as though he was looking at something ancient and forbidden. Perhaps because he was.

The room was very dark; all the lanterns had been knocked to the floor. Three steps and he worked out, with no small amount of horror, that the twisted lumps on the floor were corpses.

Five steps and he saw that the woman's eyes where closed and that her mouth was moving in a strange way, almost automatically like a puppet being forced to dance by a morbid puppeteer.

Ten steps and he realized the woman was dead.

Despite his fright he continued to walk towards the throne. He reached his arm out towards the woman's face, his fingertips only an inch away…when the woman's eyes shot open! They were as red as rubies and as hateful as a wild boar's.

Lerant screamed and tried to drag out his sword but it was stuck. The corpse reached out a claw-like hand and grabbed Lerant's face. He tried to rip the hand off but it had the strength of a demon. After a minute wrestling with the hand, Lerant fell to the floor, his eyes misted over, and closed for the last time.

The monstrosity grinned, closed its eyes and began to sing again.

Well, I didn't intend to kill Lerant so soon but someone had to die so it was him. How did you like the poem? I thought it was quite good and I definitely think this is the best chapter yet.


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